The announcement marks an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in EU member states.
French President Emmanuel Macron has formed a new government, seeking to end 11 weeks of political uncertainty after parliamentary deadlock following an inconclusive election.
Conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier formed a government on Saturday whose first priority will be to present a 2025 budget that addresses France’s fiscal situation, which the prime minister described this week as “very serious.”
The 38-member cabinet includes ministers from Macron’s centrist coalition and the conservative Republicans (LR) party.
The difficult task of presenting the budget to parliament next month falls to the new finance minister, Antoine Armand, 33, who previously headed the parliament’s economic committee.
Jean-Noel Barreau is the new Foreign Minister. He has extensive experience in solving complex international problems, especially within the European Union.
Macron’s close ally Sebastien Lecornu will remain as defense minister. The interior ministry will be taken by staunch conservative Bruno Retailo, who will now handle key domestic issues such as national security, immigration and law enforcement.
Barnier’s ability to govern effectively has already been tested, and his political opponents on the left have promised to challenge him on every front. The far-left party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France Unbowed, demonstrated against his government on Saturday.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally will closely monitor the government and has secured enough votes in parliament to topple it, but has signalled a willingness to cooperate on key budget issues.
In the July elections, the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) won the most seats in parliament, but fell short of an overall majority.
Macron argued that the left could not muster enough support in parliament to form a government that would not immediately collapse. Instead, he relied on Barnier, 73, to lead the government, drawing mainly on parliamentary support from conservative Republicans and centrist groups, while leaning on the far right’s neutral stance.
Even before Saturday’s announcement, thousands of left-leaning people took to the streets of the capital Paris and the southern port city of Marseille to protest a government that did not reflect the results of parliamentary elections.
